Don’t End Up Looking Like the Bad Guy

As online communications and e-commerce continue to grow, identity theft has reached new criminal proportions. Identity thieves now do much more than simply steal credit card numbers from discarded paper receipts; they use sophisticated computer technologies to illegally obtain your financial assets and can potentially ruin your credit history.

Identity Thieves Steal Personal Identifying Information

They use this information to fraudulently obtain cash and credit, goods, services and other property, including insurance policies. Some of their tactics include opening phony bank accounts or stealing from established ones, obtaining unauthorized credit cards and insurance policies, applying for car or home loans, and leasing vehicles and apartments with false names.

Names

Addresses

Dates of birth

Social security numbers

Credit card numbers

Driver’s license numbers

Bank account numbers

Tips to Prevent Identity Fraud

Shred or tear up personal financial documents before discarding them.

Do not print personal identifiers such as your social security number, date of birth or driver’s license number on your checks.

Use your social security number only when absolutely necessary.

Only reveal information online when the website is securely protected (look for a yellow padlock symbol in the corner of your computer screen).

Do not provide personal, financial or any other identifying information to a telephone caller. Ask for the caller’s name and telephone number, and then check to see that the caller is legitimate.